JOLIET -- Going into the season, Joliet Township High School baseball coach Terry Piazza was looking for an answer to the question of whether his team would have enough pitching.
After watching the Steelmen roll to four wins in five games coming out of the gates, he is more than satisfied with the answer. Yes, JT has arms.
Three Steelmen -- Doug Bukauskas, Pat Murray and Dan Brandt -- combined to pitch a five-inning no-hitter in 10-0 victory over Rich South on Wednesday afternoon. Bukauskas (2-0) worked 2 innings and struck out 4 to gain the victory. Murray worked 2 innings behind him and struck out 4 more with 1 walk. Brandt finished up with 1 inning, 2 strikeouts and 1 walk.
The shutout was the third straight for JT (4-1). The Steelmen staff has allowed 7 runs in 5 games.
"The funny thing is pitching was our big question mark coming into the season," Piazza said. "And I know it's going to sound strange, but we've got to continue to work and get better there. It's early. Guys are going to start swinging the bats better when it warms up. But I couldn't be more pleased with the start.
"Our pitchers are doing the job. The two walks today are maybe the only frustrating thing. You'd almost rather give up a hit."
JT's offense was paced by Justin Rogers and Zak Horvat. Both had 1 hit and 2 RBIs. Ryan Herter and Tyler Zurliene each had 1 hit and 1 RBI. Matt Porter scored 2 runs and had 1 hit.
The Steelmen face Providence at 2 p.m. Friday in the WJOL Tournament at Plainfield South. The Celtics beat JT 4-3 in the opener for both on March 18.
The senior right-hander (2-0) struck out 6 and walked only 2 in 7 innings.
"Mike pitched an outstanding game," Plainfield North coach John Darlington said. "His fastball was working and he mixed up his pitches."
Gislain struck out 5 in the first 2 innings. Andrew Starks collected 2 hits and 1 RBI.
A.J. Plese threw 4 innings, allowing 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 5.
"This was a nice win," JCA coach Jared Voss said. "In only our second game of the year, to beat a team as highly ranked as St. Rita is a nice comeback after our opening loss to Joliet Township."
Wheaton North 11, Lemont 0 -- At Lemont, freshman Josh Ferry went 1-for-3, including a triple, to pace the Indians (1-2).
"We had some opportunities to stay in the game early but couldn't come up with the big hit," Lemont coach Joe Rodeghero said.
Streator 9, Morris 7 -- At Morris, Nathan Slattery blasted a grand slam for the Redskins (2-3) in the nonconference loss. Mike Henry (RBI) and Tyler Matteson had 2 hits.
Peotone 7, Grant Park 1 -- At Peotone, winner Ben Zwolinkski (1-0) srruck out 10 and allowed just 3 hits in 6 innings. Joe Kottmeyer pitched the final inning for the Blue Devils (1-2). Joe Malia doubled in 2 runs and Dan Redmore had a 2-run triple.
Yorkville 3, Coal City 2 -- At Coal City, the Coalers (3-1) fell after the Foxes scored an unearned run in the seventh to break a 2-2 tie.
Coal City scored its runs in the first inning. Bryan Bertani had an RBI triple. J.T. Blaine finished with a single and triple.
Coalers starter Joel Lardi struck out 7 and allowed 2 runs and 5 hits in 5 innings. Coal City collected 4 of its 9 hits in the first inning.
Bradley-Bourbonnais 11, Reed-Custer 0 -- At Bradley, the Comets (1-3) managed singles by Alex King and Chris Tidmore in the loss. Bradley scored 6 runs in the fourth.
Gardner-South Wilmington 6, Prairie Central 5 -- At Gardner, the Panthers scored five runs in the fourth inning to secure the win. Winning pitcher Chris Christensen allowed 4 hits in 6 innings, with Ben Crater notching the save with a scoreless seventh. Mark Opyd went 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs, while Zach Sorensen doubled.
Tyler Thompson (RBI) doubled twice and T.J. Stanfield singled and hit a 3-run homer in Game 2. Steve Styck was the winner.
Related Content [Click to close/expand]
Facebook App
Font Size
Black Text
Cell Phone Alerts